The Federalist: Explaining the Constitution

ID : 520

The Constitution of 1787 is the bedrock document of the American political system. Americans obsess about the “original intent” of the Founding Fathers and parse the words of the Constitution like Holy Writ. The Federalist (sometimes called The Federalist Papers), written in 1787 and 1788 by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, provides the best information historians and ordinary citizens have about what the framers of the Constitution intended when they wrote the Constitution. This class will focus on the origin, purpose, and framework of The Federalist and specifically on Federalist Papers #1, #10, #51, #68, #78, and #84.